Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball Signs DeSoto Forward Tony Boyle
04/21/2004 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
April 21, 2004
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Patience is a virtue, and in the case of DeSoto High School (Mo.) men's basketball prospect Tony Boyle and suitor Southern Illinois University, a necessity as well.
While most high school recruits sign during November prior to their senior year, Boyle waited until this spring. It turned out to be a wise decision, because the 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward turned in a stellar senior season, while markedly improving his ACT entrance exam scores.
Suddenly, he was getting phone calls from schools such as Hawaii, Wyoming and Bradley. But he shunned them in favor of the Salukis, who received his signed letter of intent Wednesday.
"Southern's coaching staff really showed a lot of perseverance," said DeSoto head coach Al Davis. "They kept coming to watch him play, kept recruiting him and stayed with him the whole time."
Saluki assistant coaches Rodney Watson and Paul Lusk made frequent trips to DeSoto last season, and first-year head coach Chris Lowery sealed the deal last week.
"I really enjoyed meeting Tony and his family," Lowery said. "I think we really hit it off, and I'm very excited to have him join our program."
Boyle, who led his team to a 52-9 record the past two seasons, averaged 18.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg his senior year as DeSoto advanced to the state's final four. He piled up all-state, all-district, all-metro and all-conference honors along the way.
"Tony is a very hard-nosed, rugged, guy who a lot of people compare to Northern Iowa's David Gruber," Lowery observed. "He has great touch facing the basket and really fits what we're trying to do."
Davis describes Boyle as a blue-collar player whose greatest attributes are hard work and perseverance.
"If you tell him he can't do something, he'll work on it until he proves you wrong," Davis said. "He has tremendous upside in his game. We used him primarily on the inside, but his best attribute for college will be his perimeter play and ability to shoot the ball."
Boyle said he grew seven inches from the beginning to the end of his freshman year, and it took some time for his coordination to catch up.
"I caught a few balls off my face as a freshman," he said. "But in between my freshman and sophomore year, I really worked on my footwork and ended up starting as a sophomore."
Boyle said he attended last year's SIU-Hawaii game and can't wait to play in front of Saluki fans. He said he hopes they will appreciate his effort.
"I'm a player who's pretty intense," Boyle said. "I'll go after pretty much every board. I try hard. I'll never be boring."
Boyle completes the Salukis' signing class for 2003-04, joining forward Matt Shaw (Centralia H.S., Ill.) and guard Wesley Clemmons (Northwest H.S., Ind.) who both signed last fall.
"One of the coaches I met in Peoria said I reminded him a lot of Matt Shaw," Boyle said. "I heard Matt's a great guy, and I'm looking forward to playing with him."
Boyle said he will begin summer school at SIU in June, just several weeks after his high school graduation.
Armed with four scholarship for next fall, Lowery is back on the road meeting recruits, and said he is pleased with the response.
"We've gotten a great reception," he said. "Coaching at Illinois helped me build some name recognition, and we're going to continue to recruit the same areas where Southern has been successful in the past and has strong ties."
